Secrets

The day started off well enough. Ma made breakfast while the boys tended to the animals. They made quick work of the chicken and cows, saving the majority of their time for the pigs. Pigs can be tricky. Daughter Sally gathered the washing supplies, and set them aside to head out to the water pump for morning laundry. There was much to wash, some tricky stains to tend to.

The gathering storm clouds off in the distance should have served as an ominous warning, but the Weber family paid them no heed, secure in their belief that they were finally safe.

Farm life is a hard life. The Weber family could use a few farm hands, but times were tight. They worked hard though, and managed each day as best they could.

The storm clouds were practically on top of the farm by the time the sun was setting and the family gathered for supper.

"Did you warsh up?" Ma asked each of the boys as they rushed to their seats, belly's grumbling.

"Aw Ma, of course we did" Josef had a sly smile on his face as he tried to hide his hands under the table. Jacob made a quick show of his hands, flashing the front and back in front of Ma's eyes, hoping she wouldn't notice the dirt and other gunk under his fingernails. Some residue is harder to remove than others.

The boys, Josef and Jacob, were twins of almost 16. Lean and strong from years working the farm, yet still holding tight to their boyish ways. Lost in a childhood they didn't want to leave. Sally, the daughter, was only 13, yet wise beyond her years. A product of a childhood she'd rather leave behind. Ma was young, having married and started a family at not quite 18. It had been of necessity for security was hard to come by in these parts. But she had felt a tenderness for him, at first.

Ma looked at her children as she plated their supper. How could I have gotten so lucky, to be blessed with such strong and capable children?

Just then, the first boom of thunder came rolling over the plains.

"Did you secure all of the animals? Close the barn doors? This storm looks to be bad."

"Yes Ma" the boys said in unison.

"And Sally, you pulled all the laundry down? We can't afford to lose any clothes."

"Yes Ma. The only clothes on the line are... well.. they don't matter..." Sally shook off the memory of washing his clothes. The last time he had touched her... NO, Sally, you're safe now. It does no good to dwell.

Ma noticed her daughter recoil slightly and worried she had been too late. Too late to save her daughter the way her own mother had been too late to save her. The scars women share. Ma shivered.

"Let's finish up supper and gather in front of the fire. We could all use with a bit of warmth today."

Rain started to fall as they finished their meal in silence, enjoying the pitter-patter of rain. The single oil lamp on the table started to flicker, another warning left unheard.

*BANG BANG BANG*

The Weber's had just settled by the fire when they heard the horrible banging on their door. They froze, all slowly looking up and at one another. An uninvited visitor was never good... especially today.

*BANG BANG BANG*

Whoever was at the door seemed intent on breaking it down. Ma gathered herself, she knew it was a risk, to let in a stranger right now, but she couldn't let whoever it was keep on causing a ruckus.

"Ma?" Josef was the first to speak. "Should... should we get that? They sound awful'y mad... banging on the door like that".

"NO" Sally cried. Tears forming in her eyes. "We don't know who it is! What if they realize... what if they find out!" She rushed to Ma and cowered behind her, shaking with fear.

Ma patted her head, tying to sooth her daughter. "It will be okay, my children. They have no reason to believe we have something to hide. Just stay calm" Ma looked at each of her children and gave them a curt nod.

"Jacob, why don't you answer the door, and let them in from storm".

Jacob stood, assure of his duties as man of the house. He was oldest after all, even if it was only by 2 minutes. He walked to the door as the stranger outside started to hammer away at the door again.

*BANG BANG BA...CRASH*

The door caught the wind as Jacob opened it and swung free from his grip, crashing against the wall, causing a picture to fall and break. Glass shards now littered the floor. Sally let out a small scream and dove further behind ma, grasping at her skirts.

"Well don't just stand there, boy, let me in."

"A' course, please come in." Jacob stepped aside to let the man pass, and quickly closed the door behind him.

The room fell silent as the man entered and looked around. The house seemed familiar, but the memory was just out of reach. He noticed the fire to his left and turned to see a women and a young man staring back at him. He blinked, shocked by the sight of the young man next to the women. He quickly swiveled his head back around to the door and saw the same boy standing before him.

The man gave a little jump back and bumped into the kitchen table, causing it to scrape across the ground. He thought he heard a small shriek coming from the other room.

Jacob chuckled. "We're twins, mister. That's why we look alike".

"I... I'm sorry..." the man stumbled again, trying to gain his footing. "I wasn't expecting... well I don't know what I was expecting... forgive me" the man took off his hat and turned towards the woman by the fire.

"My name is Jon Anderson. I live over in Baywood. I was heading towards Harlan City when this storm crept up on me. I.. I thought I remembered an old friend of mine living out in these parts but... I seem to have gotten lost, this house seemed familiar but I don't know..." Jon looked around again, this time a little closer at the boys. They did resemble Frank.

"If you don't mind me askin'" Jon turned back to the woman, "do you happen to know Frank Weber."

Jon heard another small shriek from behind the woman, but he wasn't sure. This was all just little strange.

The Webers all waited for someone to make the first move... all unsure what that first move should be.

Ma spoke first.

"Pardon our silence, Mr. Anderson. You see... Frank Weber is my husband... but he... he's not here." It was mostly true. Ma's mother had always taught her to lie by keeping it as true as possible. Easier to 'member that way she used to say.

"You look awful'y wet" Ma quickly changed the subject, hoping the man wouldn't notice "can I offer you a place by the fire while my Sally here warms you up a cup of coffee?"

Ma pulled Sally out from behind her and pushed her towards the kitchen. Sally shuffled her feet, each step a struggle. She reached the kitchen, her back to the wall, and continued towards the stove trying desperately to stay as far from the man as she could.

"Jacob" Ma turned her attention to her son, "clean up that mess." She pointed to the glass shards. Jacob sighed and grabbed the broom.

Jon was once again taken back by this strange encounter. What was that about Frank being gone? He shivered and his attention turned back to woman and the crackling fire.

"That sounds mighty fine, Mrs. Weber, however I do need to see about my horse. He's tied up right now but I would like to bring him into your barn if you wouldn't mind." Jon made a move toward the door but the boy from by the fire barged in front and blocked his path.

"I'LL DO IT!" Josef screamed, eager to keep the man from seeing inside the barn.

"I'll help!" Jacob rushed to his brother, further blocking the man's path to the barn.

"Josef, Jacob, that is very kind of you" Ma gave a knowing nod to the boys. It was best that Mr. Anderson not see the barn.

She turned back to the man as the boys rushed out the door. "Mr. Anderson, my boys will handle your horse and see him fed and sheltered. You just take a seat right here and warm up. Are you hungry?"

Ma came around to the man and almost pushed him towards the fire and down on to the old rocking chair next to it. She hovered over him, awaiting his answer or to keep him in his place, he wasn't sure.

"Just the coffee's fine, ma'am." Jon's wife had sent him off with a full bag of provisions, knowing it would take all day to get to Harlan. This storm might delay things.

Jon was lost in thought when two tiny, pale white hands thrust a steaming cup of brown liquid at him.

"Mr. Anderson?" Sally could barely speak, choking out his name as she waited for the man to take her offering.

"Thank you very much, Sally, mighty kind." Jon took the cup and watched Sally run to the kitchen, away from him.

He took a sip, enjoying the heat of the drink but trying to ignore it's taste. Jon had never liked coffee, bitter black sludge he called it. But he had to admit it was a useful liquid to consume on a day like today. It calmed his nerves.

Ma came sweeping back into the room and sat in the chair opposite the man. Eager to keep the man talking about anything other than Frank.

"So you were on your way to Harlan, Mr. Anderson? Business to attend to? I must admit it's been quite some time since I've been to Harlan, what's it like these day? Is Lotte's Shop still down there on Market? I did love Lotte's creamed corn so. I would hate to see a shop like that close, and run by a woman too! Why I love to see a woman in business."

Jon was surprised by the speed of Mrs. Weber's questions. He struggled to make sense of the quick talking and took another sip of coffee while he collected his thoughts.

Ma took his silence as his not wanting to talk. Just as well. He can drink his coffee and be done with us. Hopefully this rain lets up soon.

"Dear me, Mr. Anderson I did not mean to prattle on so, I can leave you to enjoy your coffee and the fire in silence."

"You've mistaken me ma'am, I was just caught off guard is all". Jon set his cup on the side table and began unlacing his shoes. He hoped Mrs. Weber wouldn't mind the impropriety, but his socks were soaked and it was terribly uncomfortable. He moved his feet closer to the fire.

"I must go to Harlan once a month or so, to tend to some business I have in town. I don't mind, as the trip is usually easy to make. Lotte's Shop is still on Market, though I have to say I have not had her creamed corn. Always been more of a green beans man."

Ma slowly eased back in the chair, glad to be talking of useless things, when she noticed the man staring at a picture on the wall. She realized with horror that it was her wedding photo, the only photo of Frank in the whole house. Oh why did I have to set him down in the rocking chair!

Ma tensed, waiting for Jon to speak, to poke at her wounds and make a mess of the life she was determined to rebuild.

"Why that is Frank Weber. I know you said he is your husband but I wasn't sure if we were talking about the same old Frank. Gone you said?"

Jon looked back at Ma, not realizing the danger he had just stepped in to.

"My Frank... yes... we.. he... well to be perfectly honest he is missing." Ma stumbled over the words they had practiced, the story they were to tell when asked.

"We all woke up a few days ago and he just wasn't here. Suspect he went off on a bender and..." she paused, working up a few tears to help sell it, "and... I can't stand to think about it, but something must have happened. He always came back before." She covered her face and sniffled a little.

Jon was surprised to hear his old pal Frank had a drinking problem. He had never shown signs of it when they met up in Harlan every now and then. And to run off from his family, well that didn't seem at all like him either.

Just then Sally came back from the kitchen holding another cup for her mother. Jon hadn't noticed earlier, but he distinctly thought he saw an odd shaped bruise around the girls neck. He considered asking, but was stopped by the twins returning from the barn, barging in through the door like a herd of cattle, leaving behind hoards of rainwater and mud in their wake.

"Jacob and Josef Weber!" Ma shot up from her seat by the fire and marched towards her children with the fury of a thousand bees swarming an enemy, "you stop right there and look at the mess you made. You both better be on your hands and knees scrubbing this floor or you'll be sleeping with the pigs!"

Ma threw the boys some rags and a bucket and made her way back to the fire, leaving Jacob and Josef to mutter quick "yes ma'ams" as they scurried out of their wet clothes and began work on the floor.

Ma returned to her seat and the house fell into silence for some time. Each adult sipping on their beverage, the kids busying themselves in the kitchen. As the evening wore on, the storm seemed to worsen. Large flashes of light danced outside the windows, and big booms of thunder shook the house.

Sally was first to bid goodnight to her ma and hurry back towards the bedroom. Josef was not far behind. Jacob soon followed, but no one noticed when he slipped out the side door instead, and made his way out into the storm.

It was late, well past midnight, but Ma was reluctant to let her visitor spend the night. It was a risk to leave him unattended, lest he make his way to the barn and discover the secrets it held. No, She was determined to stay awake. If only she wasn't so tired.

Jon had spent the hours warming by the fire contemplating what he had learned about Frank. The way the family seemed uneasy at the mention of him, the bruise around the girl's neck. Frank missing? How unsettling, Jon thought. Made all the more unsettling by the storm continuing on around them.

Hours seemed to go by before Jon realized the storm had died down, and Ma had fallen asleep in the chair across from him. He checked the clock on the mantle and realized he could make it to Harlan by breakfast if he left now.

Jon slowly and quietly put his shoes back on his now dry feet, and gathered his belongings. He made his way to the barn, enjoying the quite a storm always leaves once it's done. The barn door was unlocked, which should have given Jon pause, but it had been a long night and he hadn't slept. It wasn't until he entered the barn that he noticed something was amiss.

A smell so pungent and fowl practically hit Jon in the face, and he was quick to bring his arm up to cover his nose. Jon looked around for the source of the smell, and didn't notice he was walking right into a table. He smacked right into it, and a butchers knife balanced on the end clattered to the ground. The noise startled the animals, and the pigs began to snort, it was close to their feeding time after all.

Jon took a closer look at the table in front of him and noticed a dark stain on the floor. Crouching down he gently brushed his finger over the stain and came away with sticky fingers.

Blood

Jon's first instincts was to run, but he quickly rationalized reasons for the blood. It was a farm with livestock, it's animal blood and nothing more.

Jon moved quickly to the stall with his horse and began to ready him for riding. The saddle was hanging on a hook across the stall and as he reached for it, he noticed a curious lump, covered with a think brown canvas tarp.

Curiosity, and a hint of fear, got the better of him, and he slowly pulled the tarp back.

There, under the tarp, were human remains. A foot was nestled on top of a pile of limbs, all clearly hacked off from their former owner.

Jon was frozen in fear, finally putting all of the pieces in place. He was so preoccupied with his discovery, he didn't hear the sound of the shot gun being racked behind him.

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The day started off well enough. Ma made breakfast while the boys tended to the animals. They made quick work of the chicken and the cows, saving the majority of their time for the pigs. Pigs can be tricky. It takes time to cut up a body and feed it to the pigs.